


A DINNER WILL DO

by tinywhim



Series: THE GIRAFFE FAMILY [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to ???, Fluff, Giraffes, M/M, pip is just too cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23807905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinywhim/pseuds/tinywhim
Summary: ❝I've never seen you smile that way before.❞Hamilton has to take Pip to work. It starts from there.[Modern!AU]
Relationships: Alexander Hamilton/Thomas Jefferson
Series: THE GIRAFFE FAMILY [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715317
Comments: 23
Kudos: 151





	A DINNER WILL DO

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shanshala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanshala/gifts).



> Prompt : Thomas Jefferson meets someone new in the oval office and he's quite charmed.  
> Side notes : will this have a sequel? i guess??? I literally have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know what to think of this story.  
> This story is for shanshala because they're an absolute darling and please go check their tumblr because the art there is just... *chief's kiss*  
> Warnings/Tags : fluff, Thomas' accent, Pip's cuteness.  
> Words : 4530

Being warned at the last minute that Philip’s teacher was absent was not the start of a good day. Alexander called Jessica, Pip’s nanny, to ask her if she was available on such short notice to look after his son but of course, she wasn’t. She was already busy babysitting someone else today and she couldn’t take care of him. Eliza was in Albany with Peggy and Maria and Alexander perfectly knew how busy Angelica was as well today. She worked with him in the House, after all. 

Which only meant one thing, he had to take Philip to work today. What annoyed him was that he had an important meeting in the afternoon but he guessed that he could ask Kitty to take care of Pip while he was gone. Also, he knew that Washington would love to see the toddler as well since he had grown quite fond of him so it wasn’t like he was risking anything with his boss. He knew that his son would be happy as long as he could draw something and be kept busy. He arrived at work late but he had already sent a text to Washington to brief him on the situation. 

“Daddy, can we eat with aunty Angie for lunch?”

“Sure thing, baby boy,” he nodded. “I’ll send her a text okay?”

“Okay.”

He couldn’t help but smile as he looked at his pride and joy. He knew that he didn’t spend as much time as he wanted with him because he had a lot of work to do yet he knew that some vacations needed to be taken. Eliza and Maria had a lot to think about with the planning of their wedding and he knew that they wanted some time for themselves as well. He couldn’t blame them. 

He could almost perfectly picture Washington’s reaction if he were to tell him “Hey, I wanna take two weeks of vacations.” since the man practically dreamed about it at night. How many times did he ask Alexander to take a few days off? Yet the immigrant had always refused. He even came in when he was sick, only to be sent home by his superior but the principle was still there. 

Over lunch, Angelica tried to get him to go to a blind date, again, telling him that it could do some good to have some romantic stuff in his life. He merely replied that he was fine by himself for now and that he didn’t have time for such a trivial thing as romance. While she was married to John Church and Alexander knew that love wasn’t really there yet between them, Angelica loved to put her nose in other people’s affairs. 

“Try at least to get laid then.”

“Angelica there’s a child here!” He hissed and pointed to his son.

“Who’s looking at a butterfly and who isn’t listening to us.”

“Just know that I’m eating lunch with you because Pip asked.” He retorted and he knew it was childish but god he hated when Angelica tried to mingle in his business. 

“You’re eating lunch because Pip is there,” she simply replied, arching her perfect eyebrow. “Don’t be fooled.”

At least Pip was happy with having seen his aunt for a little bit. Alexander was lucky with the fact that his son was not complicated when it came to naps because he loved to take them, at least for now. He knew that he could work without any worry while Pip slept on his couch and if he was lucky enough he’d get back from his meeting before he would wake up. He didn’t plan to stay in too late today, his son was going to become insane if he stayed there all day and he was weeks ahead of work anyway. 

“Kitty, look after Philip for me okay?” he asked as he left his office. “I have the meeting with Madison and Adams and I don’t know how long it’s going to last.”

“Yes sir.”

As he walked in the corridor, he made a quick detour in the breakroom so that he could grab a cup of coffee. Dealing with Maddison could be okay, they had worked together before and they had even been friends once but dealing with John Adams? Urgh, he just wanted to go to sleep and forget about him. Coming from Alexander Hamilton, it was saying something. He hummed to himself, noticing that his day had been rather pleasant so far.

“Try to not drown yourself in coffee, Hamilton.”

What was he saying just a few seconds ago? Alexander merely rolled his eyes at the Southern drawl, because yes, that’s how Thomas fucking Jefferson always spoke and merely poured himself a cup. The tall magenta prick was next to the microwave reheating something that looked like mac and cheese, and currently eying the immigrant with an arched eyebrow.

What Alexander hated the most about the Virginian was how nice he actually looked with those horrendous colours clenching his body in a sinful way. The younger man took a deep breath, mentally scolding himself for thinking something like that and decide to resume their daily banter. 

“I wouldn’t have to stare at your stupid face anymore if I did.”

“Wow impressive,” Thomas slowly clapped his hands. “How long did it take you to think of that one, Hamilton?”

“Fuck you.” 

“Is that an offer?”

He almost dropped his cup. 

“You wish!”

“Now gentlemen,” Burr started. “Let’s not get all fired up.” 

Since when was Burr in the breaking room? Had he been there the whole time? The man was so quiet it was like he was invisible sometimes. Alexander shrugged, he didn’t like Aaron Burr anyway and he shivered when he thought of the time when he admired him. He thought it was such a waste of potential to have Burr’s brain but not wanting to stand for something. How could the guy live with himself?

“Yeah,” Alexader mumbled while he made his way out. “Whatever.”

* * *

“James?”

“Yes, Thomas?”

“Why is Hamilton carrying a four-year-old around?”

When Thomas arrived this morning he was surprised to see that Hamilton wasn’t already there. It was a secret to no one that the man practically lived in his office and that he was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. Yet, this morning, something was different.

The immigrant’s office was still closed with no signs of life in it. Thomas mused and thought that maybe, the democrat had decided to retire from politics. He shivered in pleasure at the thought. Oh, it wasn’t like he hated Hamilton or anything, he found the man incredibly infuriating most of the time but he was good at what he did, even if his ideas were bullshit. 

The fact that Thomas had a crush on him didn’t help either. It wasn’t his fault, getting attached to the little shit hadn’t been part of his plan and the fact that Hamilton hated him with every fiber of his being didn’t help either. The man looked handsome, there was no denying in that but what the Virginian liked about him was the fire in his eyes, it was his sharp mind and his writing. Sure, he may write shit but the Immigrant knew how to write. 

He still had to learn but the fact that he was self-taught and had built up his entire career on his accomplishments alone made Thomas admire the man for what he was, a hard-working person and a genius. Ever since his divorce with the beautiful Elizabeth Schuyler, who was now engaged to Maria Lewis, if he still remembered correctly what Angelica told him a few weeks ago, it felt as if Hamilton was married to his work. He had been before and it probably was why his relationship with the Schuyler girl ended in the first place. 

“I don’t know, Thomas,” James sighed. “Why don’t you ask him?”

“No,” he frowned. “I don’t care.”

“Then why are you even asking me in the first place?” He asked.

“Nevermind.”

“It’s too early for me to deal with your bullshit when it comes to Hamilton,” the Southerner sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Too early.”

“It’s literally ten in the morning.”

“It’ll always be too early, Thomas.”

Thomas wasn’t even surprised when Washington didn’t say anything about the toddler being here in the first place. It seemed that Hamilton could get away with everything he did. He could literally murder someone and the president would make sure that the little shit would get away with it. He was slightly surprised not to see Angelica in the breakroom at noon but he heard that she was eating with Hamilton outside instead. 

At some point he did wonder if something had happened between the two of them because he had caught the oldest Schuyler staring at him during a charity gala once and he clearly saw that she was attracted to him. Had they ever slept together? Thomas shook his head, no, didn’t know, didn’t care. The immigrant was old enough to make his own choices. 

“Sally, if anyone asks, I’m going to the oval.” He said before leaving his office. 

“Alright sir.”

Since it was Friday, going to the bar after work could be a good option. He knew that after a long meeting with Hamilton, John and James would only want to get drunk with him. He nodded to the people he passed by in the corridor, slightly reveling in the respect they held for him. Being Secretary of State was no easy job, especially when one had to work with Alexander Hamilton. 

He remembered meeting the man, all these years ago when he came back from France. He had only heard of him from James, who’d told him that while he was brilliant, the immigrant was an arrogant bastard that could yield too much power with just a pen. He’d waited to make his own opinion of the man in question but the very first Cabinet meeting had been enough. What a shame for such a pretty face to bark more than to bite. 

Once he arrived at Washington’s office he knocked on the door, patiently for an answer. He slightly frowned when he heard a muffled ‘come in’ that did not resemble Washington’s voice at all but opened the door anyway. Strangely, the oval office was empty and the president was nowhere in sight.

He tilted his head, confused before he closed the door behind him. It didn’t him take too long to catch a glimpse of a curly-haired small figure sitting on Washington’s chair. He got closer and noticed that the child was drawing something with pencils he probably found around. It was the same kid Hamilton had been carrying around all day.

“What are you doing here, kid?” he asked, tilting his head. “Are you lost?”

“No, I’m waiting for grandpa.”

“Grandpa?” he arched an eyebrow. “Who?”

“Grandpa George.”

“Do you mean George Washington?”

The toddler nodded and continued to doodle on some documents in front of him. Thomas winced when he noticed that they could be important documents but merely stepped closer to him so that he was in front of the desk. He didn’t know that the President had a child, let alone a grandchild as well. How come was he alone here? He looked around but the office was empty except for the two of them. Was he lost? His face looked slightly familiar but he couldn’t put a name to it. 

“What’s your name, kid?”

“Philip!” he chirped. “Philip Hamilton but daddy calls me Pip all the time.”

“Hamilton, hum?” he hummed. “Where is your dad?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Kitty was with me.”

“Kitty?”

“Yeah, but she left and I got bored.”

The man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He’d forgotten how children could get sometimes. Should he call for Hamilton? He frowned. No he couldn’t, the man had an important meeting this afternoon with Madison and Adams. Did he really just leave his kid alone? He doubted it. He knew that the man had no survival instinct when it came to him but he would never be the same with his kid. 

Apparently Kitty was the one who had to watch him and she was doing a spectacular job at it. Wasn’t she Hamilton’s assistant? He wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like he knew everything about Hamilton. He knew some things because he knew what Hamilton stood for since the man had an opinion on literally everything. Was it safe to just drop the documents and leave the kid there? What if he just left and was found by someone who would like to get back to Hamilton? He shivered at the thought. 

“I’m Thomas Jefferson.” He introduced himself and Pip immediately gazed up.

“You’re the one daddy talks about a lot.”

He tilted his head. 

_Is that so?_

“Really?”

“A lot.” He emphasized by profusely nodding his head.

What sweet information could the kid hold? Thomas couldn’t help but wonder. Probably fool things and he wouldn’t even be surprised. Everybody knew how much Hamilton hated his guts and it would be no surprise to have the immigrant talking shit about him to his son. Well… his son was rather young to talk about politics, now that he thought about it.

“Look!” Philip showed him his drawing. “Do you like it?”

“I’m not sure you should draw on that.” He admitted. 

The kid’s shoulder dropped and Thomas could clearly sense his disappointment. He bit his lips and looked around. He didn’t know where George was and he didn’t know when James would be done with Hamilton in the first place. What he knew was that the kid couldn’t stay here on his own. 

“You know what, I have colour pencils and paper in my office, do you want to come?”

“Yes!” The child beamed and jumped out of the chair. 

He walked around the desk to Jefferson and sighed. 

“I’m tired already,” he pouted. “Can you carry me?”

Thomas merely snorted, thinking about how his pout looked very much like his father’s whenever Washington disagreed with him and picked up the kid in his arms. He put the documents he needed Washington to review on his desk before leaving with the toddler to his own office. He sent a memo to Hamilton’s assistant to tell her that Philip was safe with him and that she could continue her work for the afternoon without having to worry about the child. He ignored the odd looks he got from everyone in the hallways and simply walked straight to his office.

“Mr. Jefferson?”

“Hum?”

“How do you draw a giraffe?”

Thomas paused to smile at the pronunciation Pip had of the animal, it was too damn cute. Who could have known that the little Hamilton wouldn’t be a spawn of the devil? The Southerner internally scoffed, he perfectly knew that the kid wasn’t like his father. First of all, he was polite and still a child. He was not going to hold any grudge against him just because he spent 90% of his time arguing with his father. Yes he could be an asshole but not that kind of asshole. 

“Come here,” he motioned him so that he would join and sit on his lap. “Okay, so I’m gonna draw one right here and you’ll draw another one next to it.”

“Can we do a family?” he asked. “A family of giraffes!”

“Sure thing kid,” he chuckled. “See, the neck is really long,” he said as he drew it. “You can make it as long as you want, it doesn’t matter.”

“Did you see a giraffe before?”

“Yes.” He nodded. 

The look Pip had on his face was priceless. His eyes were wide with excitement and his mouth was all open, happiness radiating from every pore of his kid. He clearly had the kid’s attention now.

“For real?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you go to Africa!?”

“No,” he laughed. “I went to the zoo.”

“What’s a zoo?”

“A place where there’s a lot of animals.”

“I’ve never been there!”

“Maybe you could ask your father to take you there someday.”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “He’s always busy.”

Thomas frowned. He knew that Hamilton was married to his work, now that he was no longer married to Eliza and that was one of the main reasons they got a divorce. Well, that and the fact that Eliza actually fell in love with Maria, but still. He knew that the immigrant was a dedicated man but he also knew how much ahead of work he was. He could surely take two weeks off and still have gotten more work done than everyone else in the House. 

He couldn’t help but be reminded of his own father who didn’t really spend much time with him because he was always busy with work. He had never done that with his girls. He had always spent as much time as possible, especially toward the end. Hamilton should spend as much time as possible with his kid especially because you could never know how much time you had with them in the first place. 

“What animals do you want to see in the zoo?”

“Giraffes, zebras, and… lions!”

“Lions huh?”

“Uncle Laf calls daddy his petit lion,” he explained. “I’ve never seen a lion before.”

“You can speak French?”

“Oui!” 

Was it possible to love this kid even more?

“Are you friend with daddy?”

“I-” He paused.

How could he answer that? He didn’t want to lie to the kid but he couldn’t exactly tell him the truth. His relationship with Hamilton was complicated, messy and clearly not friendly. He had no idea what the democrat had told his son about him but he definitely knew that it wasn’t praises. He tried to think of something to say, to think of pleasant memory with the immigrant but he couldn’t find one. 

“Cause he likes you, y’know.”

Thomas tilted his head, interested. 

“He does?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “He says you’re clever,” he added. “He never says that about anyone else.”

His heart fluttered in his chest a the compliment. Thomas knew that Hamilton would rather be run over by a car than to admit that he, Thomas Jefferson, was clever. He shook his head, trying to calm himself. No, just because his crush told his son that he was clever didn’t mean that he could actually be interested in him. Still, did he stand a chance? If he were to ask him out as James told him a hundred times to do, would he say yes?

He had no idea how their relationship would work and how dating would go between the two of them because he knew that it was impossible to keep politics out of their lives. Last time, they actually argued about coffee flavours for an hour. Everything turned into an argument with Hamilton. Was he even ready to jump into a new relationship at all? Ever since Martha...

“Do you like my daddy?”

Oh boy, how did they end up here? Weren’t they talk about giraffes and lions like a minute ago? Thomas wished he could control time and avoid answering this question. He really liked kids but they didn’t have any filter whatsoever and they didn’t ask questions to make you uncomfortable or anything, they just wanted to know because they were curious. 

“You’re really tall, do you think I’ll be tall as you one day?” 

Thomas embraced the change of subject with a sigh of relief and open arms.

“Maybe,” he answered. “You need to eat a lot of vegetables for that.”

“Ew,” he scrunched his face in disgust. “I don’t like them.”

“But they make you tall.”

“They do?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “Why do you think I’m so tall? It’s because I ate a lot of vegetables when I was young.”

“Is pizza a vegetable?”

“Nope kiddo. Nice try.”

Philip merely hummed before taking his drawing and going back to the couch where he could draw on his own without disturbing Thomas. The Virginian observed him for a while, wondering if he should talk to Hamilton about taking his kid to the zoo or not but thought better of it. It wasn’t his family, he didn’t have any say in it.

“Mr. Jefferson?”

“Yes?”

“Are you a clown?”

“Why?”

“Daddy said he worked with clowns.”

Thomas smirked and bit back a laugh as he shook his head. Hamilton should really be careful about what to say in front of his child. Especially since people around here were not like Thomas and could use that information to tarnish Hamilton’s reputation. He couldn’t help but think of Lee or Adams. He loved the guy but he knew how much John _loathed_ Hamilton. The immigrant probably meant his friend when he talked about working with clowns. Thomas would definitely be insulted if ‘clown’ was the insult Hamilton had chosen to talk about him, he deserved better.

“No, I’m not a clown.”

“Oh, okay.”

* * *

When Alexander came back to his office after his tedious meeting with Adams and Madison he was confused to see it empty. Kitty and Pip were nowhere to be seen but then again when he checked the time he wouldn’t be surprised that his assistant had taken his son to eat a snack. He merely sighed and sat down on his office and started writing. 

There were some documents he needed to give to Washington and once he was done he could just go back home with Pip. With his son here he couldn’t just work until ten, unfortunately, but he was actually looking forward to spending time with Philip. He groaned when he realized that he needed to pass by Jefferson’s office to have him sign a document.

The thing was, to make sure that the prick was actually going to sign it, he had to see him himself instead of sending Kitty and she was too busy with Philip anyway. He tried to delay it as much as possible but no one can push away the inevitable forever. He passed by Lafayette’s office, quickly waving at him before making his way to Jefferson’s office. 

He knocked, for once, because he knew he needed to have the republican in a good mood to sign his things as quickly as possible so he could take Pip and get the hell out of here. He frowned when no one replied and opened it to find it empty. He checked his watch, noticing that it wasn’t late. Jefferson was still supposed to be here and groaned. 

“Daddy!”

He turned around to be greeted with the oddest sight. His sweet Philip was holding Thomas fucking Jefferson’s hand, with a big smile on his face. What was most striking was that the Virginian seemed to be happy to hold his son’s hand. What the hell? He took a step back and blinked, confused before catching his son who leaped into his arms without warning. 

“What are you doing here Pip?” he asked. “I thought you were with Kitty.”

“I was with Mr. Jefferson!” he beamed. “And he took me to eat ice cream!”

“Really?” he arched an eyebrow as he looked at the taller man. “Did you have fun?”

“Yes! We even drew a giraffe family !” he turned around to face the Southerner. “Can I show him the drawing we did, Mr. Jefferson?”

“Sure thing kiddo.” He smiled and walked past them to open his office door. 

“Here daddy, look, look!” Pip smiled as he showed the drawing. “See? This is Mr. Jefferson,” he said as he pointed to the tallest giraffe. “This is me,” he pointed to the smaller one in the middle. “And this is you.”

He quickly noticed that Jefferson’s giraffe was different from the two other ones, he must have been the one who drew it in the first place. The drawing was cute and he chuckled when he saw that the Virginian’s giraffe was all magenta with puffy hair and his was all green. 

The thing was that Thomas had never seen Hamilton smile like that. Did he actually ever see Hamilton genuinely smile in the first place? He didn’t recall. The only expression Hamilton had on his face whenever he was around was one of pure annoyment or anger. He tried to calm his racing heart and wished to never forget this moment. 

“It’s a nice drawing, Pip!”

“Mr. Jefferson helped me!”

“Really?”

Alexander gazed up to meet the Southerner’s eyes who merely nodded as a response. 

“Daddy, I’m tired,” the child sighed as he rubbed his eyes. “Can we go now?”

“Sure thing, baby boy,” he replied and picked him up. “Thanks and for the whole thing, Jefferson, I’ll just go.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Thomas replied. “Actually, I have to go too, let me grab my stuff.”

It was the first time they left the building together even though they had been working together for years. When Thomas told Alexander about the memo he sent to his assistant, the Secretary told him that he didn’t get one, probably because he was too busy to notice it in the first place.

The Virginian told him about what Pip did during the afternoon, about how he really wanted to go to the zoo and Alexander was surprised to see that they could have a decent conversation together. It definitely was because of the sleeping toddler in his arms. He smoothly put Pip in the car before gently closing the door, careful not to wake him up. He slightly smiled, looking at his son, before turning around to face Jefferson.

“Thank you, Jefferson,” the immigrant said. “You didn’t have to take care of Pip but you did, so… thanks.”

“You owe me.”

“I-” he paused before nodding. “I know. What do you want?”

“A dinner will do.”

Alexander blinked. Surely he had heard wrong because there was no way in hell that his self-proclaimed nemesis would ask for a dinner with him. Yet, Jefferson tilted his head, his eyes never leaving Alexander’s, letting no emotion betray what he was thinking. What was he thinking? Was it a trick? Was it a way for him to mock him?

“Come again?”

“A dinner. Buy me dinner sometimes and we’ll be even.”

From what he saw, Pip really enjoyed his time with Jefferson. He didn’t think that the Southerner wanted to trick him and what disturbed him was that he actually wanted to go on a dinner with Jefferson, he wanted to give it a shot. He couldn’t lie to himself, of course he was attracted to the man, the guy literally looked like everyone’s wet dream but he never intended to act upon these feelings.

Quite the contrary in fact, which is why he tried to be as unpleasant as possible so that Jefferson wouldn’t suspect anything and now… now he was asking for a date? Was it even a date? Was it work-related? He didn’t think so, Jefferson would have told him if it was work-related, right? 

“Okay,” he nodded. “I’ll buy you dinner.”

“Good.”

* * *

come talk to me on my [tumblr](https://tinywhim.tumblr.com/).

You can buy me a coffee [here](https://ko-fi.com/tinywhim) if you want.

[fanart](https://tinywhim.tumblr.com/post/616296420756078592/shanshala-it-was-the-first-time-they-left-the)

**Author's Note:**

> tell me what you thought of it.  
> Do you want a sequel?  
> come talk to me on my tumblr, i swear i'm nice.


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